Harry andrews



(No Model.)

H. ANDREWS. MINIATURE AMMUNITION.

45 y is the adaptation of an ordinary or service Nrrn @STATES niet@Ft-Mfr Minas-runs Ammunition.

SPECI'CATON formingpart of Letters Patent No. 552,090, dated December31, 1895.

Application filed December 31, 1892. Renewed October 14:, 1885. SerialNo. 565,671. (No model.) .Patented in England May 13,1889,No.7,927; inBelgium Deembe1'11,1889,No. 88,841; in France Decemherl, 1889, No.202,572; in Austric- Hungary Jan-nary 3,1890, No. 1,087 in Spain Huch 8,1890,]10. 10,327, and in Italy JanuarylS, 1893, No. 33,251.

To @ZZ whom it may concern: v

Be it known that I, HARRY ANDREWS, a subject of the Queen of GreatBritain, resid,- ing at TNoolwich, London, in the county of Kent,England, have invented a newand usefullmprovemcnt in lrojectiles forFirearms, (for which I have obtained patents in Great Britain, No.7,927, bearing date May 13, 1889; in France, No. 202,572, bearing datelDeceniber 13, 1889;' in Belgium, No.` 88,841, bearing date December 11,1889; in Italy, No. 33,251, bearing date January 13, 1893;-in Spain, No.10,327, bearing dateMarch 8, 1890, and in Austria Hungary, No. 1,087,bearing date January 3, 1890,) of which the following is aspecification.

The object of my invention is to facilitate the use ofminiatureammunition with magazine-rides, machine-guns and .otherfirearms;

Heretofore an apparatus for adapting firearms for use with miniatureammunition'comprised aV tubular'piece or block adapted to hold theminiature cartridge in its forward end and having at its rear end aheadorange corresponding in form and dimensions to that of the ordinaryservice-cartridge, a sliding pin being arranged Within and extendingthrough the said tubular piece or block to communicate to the primer ofthe miniature cartridge the blow or impact of the firing-pin, hammer orstriker of the firearm. The miniature cartridges for use withthisapparatus require to be specially formed at the rear end or'base topermit their attachment to the said tubular Apiece or block. By myinvention I provide an.

apparatus of this kind or class which is simp ler in construction butmore eicient than that described above. Moreover, by reason of theimproved construction of my appara- .tus miniature Icartridges withordinary rim bases, heads' or anges can be firmly secured therein. Thesaid apparatus is, therefore, Well adapted for use in magazine orrepeatingV firearms.

. An importantfeature of my said invention cartridge case or shell forcontaining-ambular piece or block. The base of this cartridge case orshell is bored out so that the minia- .ing details of construction.

or service cartridge, and can be asreadily fed 5 5 from the hopper or.magazine into the cham ber of a gun.

My said invention, moreover, comprises other improvements hereinafterset forth.

In the accompanying drawings l have shown 6o how my said invention maybe conveniently and advantageously carried into practice, of Which- AFigure 1 is a longitudinal central section of one form of my improvedapparatus, the 65 miniature cartridge being shown in side elevation.Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the said apparatus. Fig. 3 is a sideelevation illustrat- Fig. 4 vis a side elevation illustrating a slightmodification of 7o the said apparatus. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal centralsection showing another form or modication of my said apparatus. Fig. 6shows a further modification of construction.

Similar letters refer to-correspondin g parts 7 5 throughout the severalviews.

A is an ordinary or service cartridge case or shell, which may withadvantage be made of cartridge abutting against the internal shoul- 9oder of the shell A, as shown in Fig. l, so that the cartridge isretained firmly in position in the said shell.

C is the tubular block or plug, Which is inserted into the body of theshell A and iits 95 the same closely at each end, and Which is formed ofWood, metal or other suitable material or of Wood strengthened withmetal Where ment of the said pin in the block or plug C.`

f beenred and the apparatus extracted from withdrawal of the expandedempty shells This groove is so made as to permit the neceswhen worn outor damaged by repeated blows 'the sake of likeness, or

necessary. In the central hole C of the block or plug C is fitted toslide longitudinally the communicating pin or striker D.

In the apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 3 the said communicating pin orstriker D is retainedA in the said block or plug C by means of 'aset-screw E, the inner extremity of which enters a circumferentialgroove D in the pin D.l

sary longitudinal or endwise play or move-l F is a head securedupon therear extremity of the communicating pin or 'striker D by means ofscrew-threads or it may be secured thereon in any other suitable mannerthat will permit its ready removal from the said pin or striker whendesired; or the said head may be separate from the pin or striker and soheld in the block or plug C that it can move longitudinally therein andwill bear against the rear end of the said pin or striker.v Theremovable head F receives the impact of the striker, hammer ortiring-pin of the gun, and

therefrom may be readily removed and replaced by a new one, thusobviating the necessity for replacing the entire pin or striker. It isobvious, however, that I can if. desired form the head solidly upon thepin or striker. A recess or cavity C2 is formed in the block or plug Cto receive the said head F and permit the necessary movement thereofwhen struck by the striker, hammer or firing-pin of the gun. f 1 l G isa split ring which 'is arranged in a circumferential groove C3 in theblock or plug C, and which, when the said block or plug is inserted intothe shell A, will be slightly compressed and will retain the said blockor plug 'in position in the said shell, while permitting its withdrawaltherefrom when desired. The block or plug C may be formed as shown forit may be of any other suitable shape.

The removal of the block or plug C and of the shell of the miniaturecartridge B from the shell A after the said miniature cartridge has thefirearm can be readily eected. For this purpose the said shell of theminiature cartridge is pushed inward or backward,together with the blockor plug C, suiciently to enable the latter to be withdrawn from therearend of the shell A. The said miniature shell may then be easilyremoved and another miniature cartridge insertedin its place. The blockor plug being reinserted in the shellA, the apparatus is again ready foruse. I

I som etirnes form one or more slits in the forward end or neck of theshell A, as at A2, Fig. 4, to facilitate the insertion of the miniaturecartridges therein, and more particularly the therefrom.

For quick-firing and other guns of larger caliber I prefer to constructmy apparatus as which is screwed into the recess or cavity C2 inthe saidplug and is provided with an inter. nal flange H, serving as a stop orabutment for the collar F' of the head F. As this stop or abutmentretains the pin or striker D in the block or plug C, I am enabled todispense wsg the set-screw E, above mentioned. The sai sleeve H can bereadily withdrawn to permit the removal and replacing of the head F. Bythis arrangement the manufacture of the block or plug C is simpliiied,as the saidA plug can'be cast with a suitable core, and it will thenonly be necessary to bore the same out at each end and form thescrew-threads in the cavity C2. It will be seen that by reason of theconstruction of my apparatus in the manner above described I am enabledto dispense with a spring for eiecting the backward or return movementof the pin or striker D after it has been driven forward to iire theminiature cartridge.

The backward or return movementlof the said 7 pin or striker in myapparatus can be eected by hand after the removal of the block or plugfrom the shell A,or Vit will be effected in the operation of reinsertingthe said block or plug in the said shell behind the miniature cartridge.l

hammer or firing-pin of the gun is greater than is required toV fire theminiature cartridge I can introduce a spiral or other spring,

in combination with the pin or striker D, to partially counteract thisforce and thus diminish the force of the blow communicated through thesaid pin or strikerD to the primer of the miniature cartridge. i

Instead of the split ring hereinbefore .described 'I can employ anyothersuitablespring or springs for retaining the block or plug C in theshell A. For instance, I sometimes form a spring vby making one or moreyslits A2, Fig. 6, in rear end or'body of the cartridge-shell A, andcontracting the said shell at this end, as shown; or I can employ othersuitable means. for holding the afore' said -block or plug iirmly inposition in the body of the shell A, while `permitting its withdrawaltherefrom when desired. It is obvious, moreover, that I can somewhat iurther modify the construction of my improved app/aratus without departingfrom the nature of my said invention. For instance, instead roo I'Io

of an ordinary or service cartridge-shell bored i out at its rearend, Ican, if desired, employ a steel or other tube so formed as to accuratelyt the chamber of the firearm.

, My improved-.apparatus can be more easily and' cheaply manufacturedthan those heretofore used.4 Moreover, the apparatus may be soconstructed that, together with the miniature cartridge, it will be ofthe same weight and externally of the same form as the ordinaryservice-cartridge, thus permitting (pr-facilitating the feeding of thesaid ap paratus from the hopper or magazine into the chamber of a gun.Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of mysaidinvention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what I desireto claim isl. A. tubular piece, adapted tohold a cartridge composed'of..a shell A, provided with an internal' tubular block C, carrying thecommunicating pin or striker D, and having a split ring G, surroundinglsaid block C, at

its front end, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A tubular piece adapted to hold a cartridge composed of the shell A,made of metal of the shape shown; the miniature cartridge B, with rimB', inserted in' shellA; the tubu-

